News Extract from BBCDemocratic Senator Barack Obama has been elected the first black president of the United States."It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has come to America," the president-elect told a jubilant crowd at a park in Chicago.His rival John McCain accepted defeat, saying "I deeply admire and commend" Mr Obama. He called on his supporters to lend the next president their goodwill.The BBC's Justin Webb said the result would have a profound impact on the US."On every level America will be changed by this result... [it] will never be the same," he said. Mr Obama appeared…

Barack Obama was raised by a single mother and his grandparents. They didn't have much money, but they taught him values from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. He took out loans to put himself through school. After college, he worked for Christian churches in Chicago, helping communities devastated when steel plants closed.  Obama turned down lucrative job offers after law school to return to Chicago, leading a successful voter registration drive. He joined a small law firm, taught constitutional law and, guided by his Christian faith, stayed active in his community. Obama and his wife Michelle are proud…

Americans tonight entrusted their fate for at least the next four years to Barack Obama, who made history by becoming the first African-American to win the US presidency. Scenes of jubilation broke out among Democratic supporters as the US TV networks declared that the inexperienced but inspirational Democratic candidate had been elected president at around 4am GMT, after a momentous day that saw voters turn out in huge numbers. As one state after another fell into the Democratic column, Obama clinched a transformational election, comparable to Franklin D Roosevelt's in 1932, John F Kennedy's in 1960 and Bill Clinton's in…

Breaking News: Barack Obama wins presidential electionElectoral Votes Count (270 needed to win Electoral College vote):Obama - 338McCain -156Extracts from CNN report.(CNN) -- Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America" as he claimed victory in a historic presidential election. Sen. Barack Obama addresses a crowd of 125,000 people in Chicago, Illinois."The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as…

While I was in Argentina, one of the topics others asked me was about my opinion on American politics and whether I'm republican or democrat. I'm neither. I registered myself as an independent voter. I am not too happy with either of the main political parties. I have another understanding of American politics when I participated in my university's student government as a senator. As a side note, it's been a good experience but sometimes it can be frustrating and sometimes we can get on each others nerves. It was a good experience and I learned a lot so I…

So often we can think that we need a big audience or world fame to have an impact for Chirst. It is easy to think this way when we look at Jesus' life. There were moments when there were multitudes, "Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan." (Matthew 4:25) But that is not necessarily the case. It can be found in the small things like being a responsible husband or a faithful wife or even a loving son. What does the Bible say? What does God value? "Be careful not to do your…

there are days when dark clouds paralyze my mind and sanity escapes me. even remnants of the dream seem defiantly elusive. strength bled to weakness. passion emptied to numbness. forget brokenness; it feels as though God has taken pestle and mortar to my life, reducing everything to a fine powder that will fly away with the wind over time. i simply trust. not because i am a saint. but because i am a wretched soul and my only other option is despair. i know He is still at work because i am left with nothing except a love that grows…

Another Christian Joke Q. How do you make water holy?A. You boil the hell out of it! Mr. Bilson

On Sunday Night, our Launch Team took a brief detour from the agenda for the evening to talk about missional living.  You see one of the things we do every Sunday is celebrate the different ways God has allowed us to love and serve our city missionally.  Since that’s going to be a part of our Sunday nights, we thought it would be wise to flesh out what it means to “love and serve our city missionally.”   So we posed this question…  What if you were missionaries and I dropped you in the middle of Tanzania - what would your…

a flower and its fragranceso perfectly suitedso intricately matcheda union arranged by Loveeven after the darkest stormthe fragrance clings to the flowerinseparable--the two are one"I know that You can do all things;no plan of Yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2"For You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord,my confidence since my youth." Psalm 71:5 Benita Joy

On Reuters.com today, I see an attempt to defend Credit Default Swaps (CDS) titled "Demonization of CDS mis-states real role in crisis". If I recollect aright, I have earlier explained on this Blog that CDS have two roles. First, they have an insurance function, and are used to protect against the risk of a company, government or other borrower not paying back their debt. When a borrower fails, the party that buys the protection is eligible to be paid the full amount insured. Second, however, CDS can be used to gamble, in that one can speculate on the likelihood of…

Defend and explain, Defend and explain, Defend and explain, Mr. Bilson

An unemployed graduate woke up one morning and checked his pocket. All he had left was $10. He decided to use it to buy food and then wait for death as he was too proud to go begging. He was frustrated as he could find no job, and nobody was ready to help him. He bought food and as he sat down to eat, an old man and two little children came along and asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week. He looked at them. They were so lean that he…

Three newspapers I regularly read seem to have copied headlines from each other this last week. Key repeated words include: crisis, panic, turmoil, woes, and fears. Recurring phrases in editorials include “day of reckoning,” “uncertain fate,” and “runaway greed.” There has not been a global financial crisis like this one in recent memory, especially since the whole world became financially integrated. Some experts are terming the crisis a “financial tsunami,” or a “financial 9/11,” though no losses of life have (yet) been reported with the crunch, squeeze, and downturn. Yes, there have been losses of job, confidence, and pride, but…

I have found I must qualify all my “absolutes.” This is really tough for a fellow like me who has always believed he had the last word on everything. However painfully, I have come to realize I do not have a final word from God on anything. Not yet. Several years ago I made a decision to throw away all my credit cards. Like most decisions I make, I immediately determined that what was right for me was right for everyone else. I wrote several articles and preached several sermons saying this was absolutely the will of God. Heavy stuff. It was…

These are some thoughts of mine as I think about my faith, the body of Christ, and what it means to incarnationally present Christ to the world.A manifesto of hope, freedom, salvation;1 a place where the kingdom of God is made real and alive;2 a deliverance from bondage and oppression;3 the invocation of a life better than the one that is lived;4 the glorious advent of missional Christ-followers making a difference.5 What would the world look like if we brought Christ, the pure and undefiled Savior and Lord, to infect and transform our realities;6 where our thoughts, words, actions, and…

"WE are no longer a Christian nation,” Barack Obama declared. “We are...a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of non-believers.” Is Obama right? Are we a Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu nation? Are we a nation of nonbelievers? Not according to any credible statistical or cultural measures. The greatest danger to our future is political leaders who would rob us of the values which make our nation great. The Founding Fathers held a Judeo-Christian understanding of America's place in the world. As a Christian and an American of African descent, it pains me to conclude that…

You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers…